Owner said back and forth 'unbelievably unnecessary'

Published 10:57 pm, Monday, May 6, 2013

Voice teacher Lorrie Ruiz, left, works with student Heather Newton during a lesson at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Voice teacher Lorrie Ruiz, left, works with student Heather Newton during a lesson at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Steve Smith, owner of the Seattle Drum School, is shown at the building in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Steve Smith, owner of the Seattle Drum School, is shown at the building in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM

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A wall of photos is shown at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

A wall of photos is shown at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Owner Steve Smith rehearses at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Owner Steve Smith rehearses at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Steve Smith on drums and bass player Alan Paisley rehearse at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Steve Smith on drums and bass player Alan Paisley rehearse at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM

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The entry way is shown at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

The entry way is shown at the Seattle Drum School in north Seattle on May 4, 2013.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM

City hopeful for agreement with Seattle Drum School

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For the past 27 years, Steve Smith has been teaching music lessons at the Seattle Drum School in North Seattle. But because of costs and permitting issues, he's not positive he'll be there this time next year.

When Smith started at the space at 12510 15th Ave. N.E., he had only an upstairs room in the 8,200 square foot building. But over time his space grew, and when his now-deceased landlord partitioned the rooms, he didn't apply for building permits.

Each year, Smith said, the fire marshal's office would do an inspection and there wasn't a problem, until after an auditorium space opened in what used to be an auto-repair shop out back. That led to a 2011 inspection from the Department of Planning and Development – which responds on a complaint basis – and they noticed Smith's space needed major upgrades.

Among Smith's questions: Why was there no problem with fire department inspections before? Why does the city now classify us the same as a public school with 30 kids in a classroom? And will the upgrades put him out of business?

Smith's explained his frustrations in the news last week, and though there's still confusion about what exactly the next steps will be, there's now a better dialogue and hope that he and the city will find common ground.

Department of Planning and Development staff said they learned about the general public's concern for the Drum School when a story was published Wednesday in the Stranger, and they now don't think sprinklers are needed.

"We never considered them a public school, we just needed clarification on their drawings to understand how they were going to be using the space," department spokesman Bryan Stevens said.

Smith said that when he tried dealing with clerks and some staff at the Department of Planning and Development, it seemed that they didn't care that the onerous regulations – and the alleged mixed messages he received from them – could shut down his business.

When the changes weren't made after several months, Smith received a note from the City Attorney's Office, which follows up on some DPD cases that do not have compliance.

"What seems to be most frustrating is that they don't seem willing to listen," Smith said of the DPD, adding that he wished they would just pick up a phone. "It seems absolutely unnecessary what they're putting us through."

Stevens said there have been gaps where the city hadn't heard from the applicant, but regardless of what the communication issues they now want to work together to find a solution. As for why the building wasn't flagged during an earlier fire marshal's inspection, that's not clear. The crew that did the inspection wasn't available when seattlepi.com sent the request Monday afternoon, and a fire department spokesman said more information would be available Tuesday.

"We're not going to require an onerous update to a building if it's not needed for the safety of occupants," Stevens said. "We support local business, but our mission is to make sure that the occupants of a building are safe. The only way we can verify that is through review of a building permit."

So what's next for the Seattle Drum School, which also has lessons on several other instruments and a Georgetown location?

Stevens said the city will work on the communication to explain a sprinkler system isn't needed and that they view the space as a fine arts school – something that's not the same as a classroom with 30 kids and a teacher. He didn't rule out fines for the permit delays, but said that's not the city's motivation.

"Compliance is the goal," Stevens said. "If they can work through their review and getting permits for the building, then they should be looking pretty good."